First blood pressure reading taken in 1726

Just the other day I had the opportunity to have my blood pressure taken. It was a nice 128 over 72 -- probably due to my running -- and I was pronounced "healthy as a horse."

That was a real coincidence since the first creature to have its blood pressure taken was a horse.

The year was 1726 as Stephen Hales took the blood pressure of a horse (we don't know the horse's name).

Four years later our boy, Steve, published "Haemostaticks," in which he related his experiments on blood pressure with notes on the mechanical relation of the pressure to medical conditions including the capacity of different blood vessels and the velocity of blood flow.

Blood kept flowing for the next century and a quarter, then Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (as a doctor he could afford four names) developed a device that continually recorded blood pressure, proving that the circulation of blood is purely mechanical, nothing mysterious that couldn't be explained by physics.

Heartened (yes, I meant to say that) by Karl etc.'s work, a French physiologist, Etienne-Jules Marie invented the sphygmograph, the predecessor of the sphygmomanometer, the device used to measure blood pressure today.

And to show that science is equal opportunity, Herta Ayrton, who also invented a sphygmograph (hers could monitor the pulse), became the first woman to be elected to England's Institution of Electrical Engineers.

The technology has come a long way since Steve's work with the horse and where are we today? Back to "you're healthy as a horse."

Looking for the best ginseng for your household uses? South Korea produces Panax ginseng, considered by many to be the finest ginseng in the world.

Filed in the category of unusual experiments is the first haircut in space. It was given by Charles Conrad, Jr. to Paul Weitz. It's only coincidence that that Skylab 2 trip also contained the first medical doctor in space, Dr. Joseph Kerwin.

One of the fascinating definitions I've run across is this one, "consciousness: that annoying period between naps."

If you have a copy of it, it's probably worth a dollar or two on eBay. The last issue of "Collier's Magazine" was published on Jan. 4, 1957. The late Grace Kelly appeared on the cover.

It was a war in 1812, but it wasn't our war. Many people believe that Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" was inspired by what we call the War of 1812. Not so fast, Pyotr Ilyich was commissioned to write a piece commemorating Russia's defeat of Napoleon on the outskirts of Moscow in 1812. He did it, apparently under protest. He described his work as "very loud and noisy."

Jim Willard, a Loveland resident since 1967, retired from Hewlett-Packard after 33 years to focus on less trivial things. He calls Twoey, his bichon frisé-Maltese dog, vice president of research for his column.